02.28.07
One out of Twelve
Just as my Mom pointed out in the comment that she left, yesterday was Charlie’s one month birthday. April sang happy birthday to him, and of course gifted him with showers of kisses. So do I get to say that he is one month old or do I say that he is four weeks old. When is the cut off between saying months and weeks? Furthermore, what about months and years? I hear people say, “Oh he is 20 months.” Maybe when you are young using a larger number is better but then when you get older a smaller number is more appropriate. But if this was true then people would say that they are one-half century old. I guess there is no way to disguise your actual age, or in other words, “age ain’t nothing but a number”.
02.26.07
Change of Pace
The weekend has already came to an end and so too has my Mom’s visit. Some of the highlights were her watching me teach, making sushi together, cooking dinner for her and April’s parents, watching her act out a scene from Hustle & Flow, taking care of Charlie, having eggs and coffee with her in the morning, talking through the late night, seeing her sleep on our couch, making a cast of Charlie’s hand and foot, chatting during our drives, and gifting Charlie a beautiful blanket. The moments were sweet but short. We eagerly await more visitors to see our little Charlie.
Today is April’s first day back to school. So, Charlie’s routine will be changing a bit. I will stay with Charlie till 10:30 and then our babysitter will stay with him until April returns at noon. Overall, I cannot believe that a month has gone by. I wonder just how many times I will say that cliche, “I cannot believe that (insert time) has gone by.” Oh well, off to give Charlie a mid-morning snack. I cannot believe that it is time to feed him again 
02.22.07
Pictures
02.21.07
Sleeping Bandit
Yes, another post about Charlie’s sleeping, but is this a surprise? Sleeping does seem swallow us sometimes, forcing us to think, “I just want to sleep” or “When will I get a good night sleep”. So it seems that you don’t have to have a baby to understand the power of wanting sleep. April and I have came up with a great strategy to keep Charling sleeping. First we swalddle him super duper tight where he cannot move his arms. Second we place the pacifier into his mouth. Finally, to make sure the pacifer does not fall out we gently wrap the blanket around it, so that is it tight enought to keep the pacifier in but loose enough so that it can fall out if it needs to. Yes, it is a delicate balance. The funny thing is that by the end Charlie looks like a bandit since all you see is from his nose up. However, he is not robbing us of too much sleep. The great thing is that he sleeps four straight hours like this. We can place him in the crib and go straight to bed. That is the strategy for now. I am sure we will have to use our problem solving skills again soon. Till then, be on the look out for the Friendly Sleeping Bandit in your dreams…zzzzzzzzz
02.20.07
Bye Mommy
This will mark Charlie’s fourth week at home, which means that April has no more sick days. 
She had twenty sick days accumulated for her pregnancy leave, allowing her to still get paid during her leave of absence. The state does provide a six week leave but you have to have enough sick days for all of that time. So April could stay home and not get her salary or go to work. She chose the later. Charlie is doing well, and we are sure that he will have a smooth transition with the baby sitter. Our baby sitter is our neighbor and she will be coming to our house to watch him. I just love the convenience. Overall, April did an awesome job of being with Charlie and now it is time to pass reigns. The summer will be here before we know it and Mommy will be back for full time.
02.19.07
Snow
All I have to say is that I miss snow and that I want some to fall here. I am tired of weather forecasts calling for an inch or two and nothing ever shows up. Since I do travel up the mountain, I have experienced some snow fall this winter but I am still jealous that I cannot look out my window and see the wintery delight. Now I know my family in Indiana would love to send me some snowflakes my way, I am sure of it. My Mom used her web cam to show me the huge drifts outside of her house, which seemed to be screaming my name. The white fluffy snow is not all that I want though. Bring on the disgusting slush, the bitter cold, salty roads, the shoveling, and all the not so fun side of snow. I just want to experience the fullness of a winter, just like countless showers in the spring time or scorching hot days in the summer, instead of this mild North Carolina winter. And so I know step of my salt box.
02.16.07
Sleeping
After about three weeks, I have adapted to the new sleeping pattern that Charlie has introduced. The current schedule is to feed at ten and then again around 2:30 or 3:00. Then once again about six. However, I should also note that April has made the transition really easy for me. Actually she has done mostly everything! Once in awhile, I get up to bring Charlie for night feeding and take him back but 90% of the time I sleep like a rock through the feedings. So I guess you could say that I am not really use to it because I have been sleeping the whole time. 
What I have noticed though is a small little fear that arises when I first put him down to sleep. When I am back in my bed trying to fall asleep, it is like I am waiting to hear him be awake and make noises, instead of trusting that he will be asleep. This reminds me when I was hiking on the AT and at night I would listen out for those creepy noises. Every night was not like this but there were some, mostly when I would be out by myself. The similarity between these two experience is that there seems to be some weird comfort in wanting to hear things to keep me awake in order to keep the anxiety going. Overall, I think that this is just another example in the power of letting go, not matter how small or big the issue may appear to be.
02.11.07
Far Away Connection
Today was the first day that some of my family were able to see Charlie live and in person thanks to a video conference. My mom purchased a MacBook computer, partially to my advise, and she has loved many of the features. The newest gizmo for her to use was the iSight camera. My iBook is now five years old, needless to say that it did not come with a built in camera, but I was able to buy a cheap USB camera. So, this morning we started a video chat through iChat. It was really sweet! My camera was a bit slow, making choppy images, while hers was pretty smooth. All in all, it was good enough to connect even though we are 600 miles apart. How special it is to bridge gap and allow my Mom to see her grandson grow up (and her son too ). So, I would like to welcome everyone to a video conference. You get to see me, I get to see you, and Charlie will of course just go along with the ride. If you don’t have iChat we can use Skype, which will work for a PC or a Mac. Catch you on the internet wave…
02.09.07
Lesson One
I know that my son Charlie will teach me many lessons but I think he has already started on the first one. Since Charlie’s birth so many people have came to visit us, gift us, and congratulate us. But I guess this is not the first time April and I have received extra attention, considering we had numerous showers and people checking in to see how the pregnancy was going. So what is it that Charlie is teaching me? I think that the lesson is the gift of giving. I hope that I can continue to see what I can offer to people, and not look for a reason to do it. Probably, too often, I allow an event to lead me in giving, such as a holiday or a life event (birthday). I want to remember to be spontaneous in my giving and be in the moment with my service. Moreover, may I be a part of the special moments of peoples lives as so many friends and family have done with me. May I carry this attitude towards my son since he is the one who helped me see so clear. Thanks Teacher Charlie!
02.05.07
One Week
Charlie has now been with us for one week and a day. He is almost back to his original birth weight. When we was weighed at the hospital today, we found out that he gained 7 oz. in the last four days. Yippee because this means that we don’t have to wake him up during the night time for feeding. I can notice the weight gain a bit. His face has changed a bit and his arms are a bit beefier, if that is a possible description for a baby. Also, April is feeling great and getting closer to 100% health every day. Hard to imagine that she just delivered a baby last Saturday. True the labor was fast, but April had a lot to do with that. She exercised, ate healthy, took supplements, and had a strong positive attitude the whole time. Way to go wifey. Finally, I would to thank everyone for all of the support and congratulations which we have received during this week. We greatly appreciate the numerous phone calls, flowers, emails, and visits from friends, family, and even neighbors. Thanks for being a part of this special time.
